Method and System of Quantifying Carbon Footprint of a Power Supply

The present disclosure relates generally to determining a carbon footprint based on an amount of energy provided to a load by a power supply, and more specifically to determining the carbon footprint based on an emission factor and the amount of energy provided to the load by the power supply.

In manufacturing or industrial settings, communication modules are often used to provide an industrial power supply with connectivity to the internet and to other devices, such as a programmable logic controller (PLC). For example, the PLC can perform various actions or control other devices based on values of the diagnostic information (e.g, temperature, voltage, or current) that is related to the power supply and provided by the communication module. As industrial plants and factories become more data-driven, and power supplies and related components evolve to include more computing power, more useful applications for data generated by the power supplies and related components are discovered.

A first example is a communication module that includes one or more processors and a computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the communication module to perform functions that include receiving, from a power supply, first data indicating an amount of energy provided to a load by the power supply, determining a carbon footprint based on the amount of the energy and an emission factor, and sending second data representing the carbon footprint to the power supply or a computing device.

A second example is a method performed by a communication module. The method includes receiving, from a power supply, first data indicating an amount of energy provided to a load by the power supply, determining a carbon footprint based on the amount of the energy and an emission factor, and sending second data representing the carbon footprint to the power supply or a computing device.

A third example is a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a communication module, cause the communication module to perform functions that include receiving, from a power supply, first data indicating an amount of energy provided to a load by the power supply, determining a carbon footprint based on the amount of the energy and an emission factor, and sending second data representing the carbon footprint to the power supply or a computing device.

By the term “about” or “substantially” with reference to amounts or measurement values described herein, it is meant that the recited characteristic, parameter, or value need not be achieved exactly, but that deviations or variations, including for example, tolerances, measurement error, measurement accuracy limitations and other factors known to those of skill in the art, may occur in amounts that do not preclude the effect the characteristic was intended to provide.

The features, functions, and advantages that have been discussed can be achieved independently in various examples or may be combined in yet other examples further details of which can be seen with reference to the following description and drawings.

A need exists for methods and systems that generate and display information related to a carbon footprint of a power supply or a collection of power supplies. This need may exist because of legal obligations to limit the carbon footprint or because of a private company's desire to reduce carbon emissions.

Accordingly, this disclosure includes devices and methods that help address this problem. For example, a communication module receives, from a power supply, first data indicating an amount of energy (e.g., in joules) provided to a load by the power supply. The energy could be provided to the load by the power supply during various periods of time, such as hours, days, weeks, etc. The communication module then determines a carbon footprint (e.g., in kilograms of carbon) based on the amount of the energy and an emission factor (e.g., in kilograms of carbon per joule). More particularly, the communication module can determine the carbon footprint by multiplying the amount of energy by the emission factor. The communication module can calculate carbon footprints that pertain to intervals of time such as hours, days, weeks, etc, or can calculate a running total carbon footprint. The emission factor can be based on known characteristics of the carbon footprint of energy generated in particular geographic regions. In other examples, the emission factor is selected based on how energy is generated locally at a factory or industrial plant. Next, the communication module sends second data representing the carbon footprint to the power supply or a computing device. The second data can be stored at the power supply and/or the computing device can display the data so that a carbon footprint can be displayed graphically with respect to time to identify trends.

Disclosed examples will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying Drawings, in which some, but not all of the disclosed examples are shown. Indeed, several different examples may be described and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein. Rather, these examples are described so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

1 FIG. 10 12 14 10 12 14 108 110 112 116 116 108 110 112 114 is a block diagram of a communication module, a computing device, and a power supply, with which aspects of the present disclosure can be implemented. Each of the communication module, the computing device, and the power supplyincludes a communication interface, one or more processors, a computer readable medium, and a user interface. The user interface, the communication interface, the processor, and the computer readable mediumcan be linked with each other via a system bus, network, or other connection mechanism.

108 10 12 14 108 108 The communication interfacemay take a variety of forms and is configured to allow the communication module, the computing device, and the power supplyto communicate with one or more other devices according to any number of protocols. In some examples, the communication interfacemay take the form of a wired interface, such as an Ethernet interface. Additionally or alternatively, the communication interfacemay take the form of a wireless interface, such as a cellular interface, a Bluetooth interface, or a Wi-Fi interface.

110 The processormay include a general purpose processor (e.g., a microprocessor or a microcontroller) and/or a special purpose processor (e.g., a digital signal processor (DSP)).

112 110 112 110 10 12 14 112 The computer readable mediummay include one or more volatile, non-volatile, removable, and/or non-removable storage components, such as magnetic, optical, or flash storage, and may be integrated in whole or in part with the processor. Further, the computer readable mediummay have stored thereon program instructions (e.g., compiled or non-compiled program logic and/or machine code) that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication module, the computing device, or the power supplyto perform one or more functions, such as those described in this disclosure. In some examples, the computer readable mediumincludes an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a non-volatile memory, and a random access memory (RAM).

116 10 12 14 116 116 The user interfaceis configured for facilitating interaction between each of the communication module, the computing device, and the power supply, and a user, such as by receiving input from the user and providing output to the user. Thus, the user interfacemay include input components such as a keyboard, a touchscreen, or push buttons. In addition, the user interfacemay include output components such as a display screen, a sound speaker, or other audio output mechanism.

2 FIG. 10 12 14 10 14 10 14 10 12 10 10 14 is a schematic diagram of operations of the communication module, the computing device, and the power supply. The communication modulegenerally takes the form of an ethernet adapter configured to provide network connectivity for the power supplyvia (1) a serial connection between the communication moduleand the power supplyand (2) a network connection between the communication moduleand one or more other servers or devices including the computing device. For example, the communication moduletakes the form of a Sola HD SCM-E-EIP. In some examples, the communication moduleis an ethernet adapter that is fully integrated with the power supply.

12 The computing devicecan take the form of a desktop computer, a tablet computer, a smartphone, a programmable logic controller (PLC), and/or a human machine interface (HMI). Other examples are possible.

14 14 The power supplycan take the form of an industrial power supply or a UPS system. For instance, the power supplycan take the form of a SolaHD SDN10 24 100D, SDN20 24 100D, or SDN40 24 100D power supply or a SolaHD uninterruptible power supply system SDU10 24B or SDU20 24B.

10 14 102 14 102 102 102 In operation, the communication modulereceives, from the power supply, dataindicating an amount of energy provided to a load by the power supply. The load can take the form of PLCs, industrial personal computers, gateways, input/output modules, motors, lighting devices, sensors, or pneumatic compressors, for example. For instance, the dataincludes a numeric value E corresponding to the amount of energy (e.g., in joules) provided to a load during a time period of interest (e.g., minutes, hours, days, etc.). In other examples, the dataincludes current and/or voltage values that can be used to derive the amount of energy E. Thus, the datacan explicitly or implicitly indicate the amount of energy E.

10 10 14 14 14 14 14 110 Next, the communication moduledetermines a carbon footprint CF (e.g., in kilograms of carbon) based on the amount of the energy E and an emission factor EF (e.g., in kilograms of carbon per joule). For example, the communication moduledetermines the amount of energy E as a product of i) a voltage V provided to the load by the power supply, (ii) a current I provided to the load by the power supply, and (iii) a duration T during which the power supplyprovided the voltage V and the current I to the load. The power supplycan include a voltmeter and an ammeter that detects the voltage V and the current I, respectively. For example, the power supplyincludes voltage and current sensors coupled to the processorthat detects the voltage V and the current I values, respectively.

14 14 14 10 14 14 10 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 Typically, the power supplyprovides voltages and currents to a load that vary somewhat over time. These variations affect the actual carbon footprint CF of the power supply. Accordingly, the power supplywill periodically provide, to the communication module, the values of the instantaneous voltage and the instantaneous current provided to the load by the power supply. For example, the power supplyprovides, to the communication module, an instantaneous voltage Vand an instantaneous current Iprovided to the load at time t, an instantaneous voltage Vand an instantaneous current Iprovided to the load at time t, an instantaneous voltage Vand an instantaneous current Iprovided to the load at time t, and so on.

10 14 14 The communication modulecan use these values to calculate an average voltage provided by the power supplyto the load and an average current provided by the power supplyto the load. For example, the average voltage V can be generated according to

10 14 where n is the number of instantaneous voltages provided to the communication moduleby the power supply. The average current I can be generated according to

10 14 10 14 10 VI V where n is the number of instantaneous currents provided to the communication moduleby the power supply. Accordingly, the average energy E can be generated by the communication moduleaccording to E=() T where T is the duration of time during which the average voltageand the average current Ī were provided by the power supplyto the load. The carbon footprint CF can be generated by the communication moduleaccording to CF=Ē×EF where EF is the emission factor EF.

10 10 104 14 12 14 12 104 10 104 112 10 10 104 112 10 10 104 12 12 10 After the communication moduledetermines the carbon footprint CF, the communication modulesends datarepresenting the carbon footprint CF to the power supplyand/or the computing deviceso that the power supplyand/or the computing devicecan process and/or store the data. In some examples, the communication modulestores the dataon the computer readable mediumof the communication module. More specifically, the communication modulestores the dataon a non-volatile component of the computer readable mediumof the communication module. In some examples, the communication moduleprovides the datato the computing devicefor display by the computing device, via a webserver interface provided by the communication module.

3 FIG. 10 112 10 10 is a schematic diagram of the communication module. Typically, the computer readable mediumof the communication modulestores several emission factors corresponding to different geographical regions. Additionally, the communication modulecan store one or more custom emission factors that correspond to how energy is generated locally at a factory or industrial plant.

10 108 108 1 108 2 108 3 108 4 108 5 108 112 10 For example, the communication modulemight initially store dataA in the form of a data table. The dataA associates an emission factor EFwith the geographic region of the United States and a value of X (e.g., ‘X’ kg of carbon per joule). The dataA associates an emission factor EFwith the geographic region of India and a value of Y. The dataA associates an emission factor EFwith the geographic region of China and a value of Z. The dataA associates an emission factor EFwith the geographic region of Japan and a value of W. Lastly, the dataA associates an emission factor EFwith the geographic region of South Korea and a value of V. In some examples, the geographic regions are more local in nature than nations (e.g., counties, states, provinces, etc.) In some examples, the dataA is stored in a non-volatile component of the computer readable mediumof the communication module.

2 FIG. 10 106 12 10 1 10 14 1 Referring also toby way of example, the communication modulereceives a selectionof the United States geographic region from the computing devicevia a webserver interface provided by the communication module. Accordingly, the active emission factor becomes EFhaving a value of X. The communication modulecan then determine the carbon footprint CF by multiplying (1) the energy E provided to the load by the power supplyby (2) the emission factor EFhaving the value X.

10 12 10 12 111 1 108 1 10 1 112 10 10 14 1 In other examples, the webserver interface provided by the communication moduleon the computing devicecan be used to edit existing emission factors or to add new emission factors. For example, the communication modulereceives, from the computing devicevia the webserver interface, a commandto change the emission factor EFto a new value A. As a result, the communication module stores the dataB in the form of a data table that associates the United States with the emission factor EFhaving the new value of A. The communication modulecan write the new value of the emission factor EFto a non-volatile component of the computer readable mediumof the communication module. In this context, the communication modulecan determine the carbon footprint CF by multiplying (1) the energy E provided to the load by the power supplyby (2) the emission factor EFhaving the value A.

10 12 10 106 6 10 14 6 10 6 112 10 In another example, the communication modulereceives, from the computing devicevia the webserver interface provided by the communication module, a selectionof a custom emission factor EFhaving a value of B. In this context, the communication modulecan determine the carbon footprint CF by multiplying (1) the energy E provided to the load by the power supplyby (2) the emission factor EFhaving the value B. The communication modulecan write the value of EFto a non-volatile component of the computer readable mediumof the communication module.

4 FIG. 4 FIG. 200 10 200 202 204 206 is a block diagram of a method, which in some examples are performed by the communication module. As shown in, the methodincludes one or more operations, functions, or actions as illustrated by blocks,, and. Although the blocks are illustrated in a sequential order, these blocks may also be performed in parallel, and/or in a different order than those described herein. Also, the various blocks may be combined into fewer blocks, divided into additional blocks, and/or removed based upon the desired implementation.

202 200 10 14 102 14 202 2 3 FIGS.and At block, the methodincludes the communication modulereceiving, from the power supply, the dataindicating the amount of energy E provided to a load by the power supply. Functionality related to blockis described above with reference to.

204 200 10 204 2 3 FIGS.and At block, the methodincludes the communication moduledetermining the carbon footprint CF based on the amount of the energy E and the emission factor EF. Functionality related to blockis described above with reference to.

206 200 10 104 14 12 206 2 3 FIGS.and At block, the methodincludes the communication modulesending the datarepresenting the carbon footprint CF to the power supplyor the computing device. Functionality related to blockis described above with reference to.

The description of the different advantageous arrangements has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the examples in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Further, different advantageous examples may describe different advantages as compared to other advantageous examples. The example or examples selected are chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the examples, the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various examples with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.